Reclosable bags are finding ever-growing acceptance as primary packaging, particularly as packaging for foodstuffs such as cereal, fresh fruit and vegetables, cold cuts, snacks and the like. Such bags provide the consumer with the ability to readily store, in a closed, if not sealed, package any unused portion of the packaged product even after the package is initially opened.
Reclosable bags typically comprise a flexible receptacle formed of two opposing walls equipped at the mouth with a plastic closure or fastener. Typically, a plastic closure for a reclosable bag includes a pair of interlockable profiled closure strips that are joined (e.g., by thermal crushing or ultrasonic welding) at opposite ends of the bag mouth. The closure strips are formed by extruding thermoplastic material out of orifices having the desired profiles. The profiles of interlockable extruded plastic closure strips can take on various configurations, e.g. interlocking rib and groove elements having so-called male and female profiles, interlocking alternating hook-shaped closure elements, etc. The profiles are shaped so that when they are aligned and pressed together into an engaging relationship, they form a continuous closure for the bag. The bag may be opened by pulling the walls apart, thereby separating the profiles.
When trying to close the bag, the profiles of the interlockable closure strips must be aligned and then force-fit or pressed together along their length. Because the plastic closure strips are flexible, it can be difficult for the consumer to align the interlockable closure profiles before causing those profiles to engage. For example, it is sometimes difficult to close a reclosable bag because the user's finger may drift off the profiles, resulting in the closing pressure not being directly applied to portions of the closure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,211,481 discloses a reclosable bag having guide means that guide the fingers of a user when closing the bag, whereby the bag can be easily and securely closed. More specifically, the guide means include a respective pair of ribs on the outside of each wall, the ribs of each pair forming a valley therebetween, which valleys are respectively located directly behind the male and female closure profiles. The spacing between the ribs and their sizing are such that each valley is sized and shaped to act as a finger guide for the end user of the bag. Thus, as the user passes his finger and thumb along the valleys, the user's finger and thumb are directed towards the optimum positions for applying pressure for forcing the profiles together, thereby ensuring that the profiles interlock properly across the entire width of the bag.
Double-closure reclosable storage and freezer bags are commercially available. In general, the double closure in such bags comprises two flexible closures that are mutually parallel and spaced apart when the bag is empty and flat. Each closure in turn comprises a respective pair of interlockable closure strips. Because two pairs of closure strips need to be aligned, closing a bag having two closures may be more difficult than closing a bag having one closure. There is a need to provide means for facilitating the alignment and pressing together of two mutually closures installed in a reclosable bag.